Gerwyn Price edged out Corey Cadby in a highly-charged second-round affair at the World Series of Darts Finals in Glasgow, whilst Dimitri van den Bergh produced the performance of his career to stun Raymond van Barneveld. Elsewhere, the world’s top three all cruised through to the last eight on a dramatic night at the Braehead Arena.

Top seed Gary Anderson produced a vintage display to defeat his protégé Chris Dobey and delight a partisan Glasgow crowd. Anderson had suffered back-to-back first-round exits in his previous two appearances at the Braehead Arena, but he avoided the unwanted hat-trick, averaging 103.57 en route to a comprehensive 6-1 triumph.

Dobey secured a brilliant victory over Champions League winner Mensur Suljovic on Friday, but he was unable to overcome his mentor. ‘Hollywood’ averaged 92.81 and fired in four maximums, but a clinical Anderson converted six of his eight attempts at double to set up a quarter-final clash against UK Open finalist Gerwyn Price.

Price edged out Corey Cadby in a tempestuous affair to set up a showdown with ‘The Flying Scotsman’. The game will be remembered more for the antics rather than the darts itself, with both men exchanging celebrations aplenty, but the Welshman prevailed in a bad-tempered deciding-leg.

Cadby opened up an early 2-0 lead, before ‘The Iceman’ reeled off four legs in succession to seize control. The Aussie levelled at four apiece, before Price regained the lead, only to squander three match darts as ‘The King’ pounced to force a decider. However, the Welshman recovered impressively, firing in a tidy 14-darter to prevail.

Elsewhere, Dimitri van den Bergh produced the performance of his life to defeat five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld in a thriller. The Belgian averaged 102, landed five maximums, two 177’s and converted 38% of his attempts at double to defeat the Dutchman 6-4 and book a spot in his first ever PDC major quarter-final.

‘The Belgian made a blistering start, firing in six perfect darts in two of the first three legs to establish a 3-0 lead with a 118 average. Barney dispatched a clinical 92 kill to open his account, but Van den Bergh responded superbly and extended his lead to 5-2.

Van Barneveld fought back; pegging D8 followed by a 14-dart break of throw to reduce the arrears to 5-4 and suddenly, the legendary Dutchman had the throw to force a last-leg decider. Nevertheless, an inspired Van den Bergh wasn’t to be denied; rounding-off a sensational victory with a majestic 10-dart match winning-salvo.

Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a third successive World Series of Darts Finals title with a comprehensive 6-1 win over German star Max Hopp. The former World-Youth champion had dumped out Adrian Lewis to set up a clash against ‘Mighty Mike’, but the world number breezed to victory with an impressive 102.98 average.

Van Gerwen was dominant from the outset; piling in five maximums and dispatching 60% of his attempts at double. He led 5-0 at one stage, but Hopp was spared the indignity of a whitewash as MvG missed a dart at tops for a 6-0 win. Nevertheless, ‘The Green Machine’ responded by clinching victory with a sublime 11-dart leg just moments later.

The world champion will now take on Rob Cross for a place in the semi-finals, in a repeat of last weekend’s European Championship final. Cross sealed his place in the last eight after fending off a dramatic late fightback from Kyle Anderson, who came from 5-2 down to force an eleventh and final leg.

Cross spurned two match darts for a 6-4 win, which allowed ‘The Original’ to coolly dispatch a 92 kill via D16 to force a decider. However, the Australian just fell short of producing an inspired comeback. ‘Voltage’ had the advantage of throw which proved decisive, as he pegged D18 with his last dart in hand to triumph with a 98.70 average.

Daryl Gurney produced a terrific display to defeat Simon Whitlock in a repeat of last month’s World Grand Prix Final. ‘The Wizard’ averaged 97.70 and hit all three of his attempts at double, but ‘Super-Chin’ was in merciless mood; averaging 103.64, landing five maximums and converting 55% of his double attempts to triumph in style.

Whitlock opened up an early 2-0 lead with successive 13-darters, but the Northern Irishman fought back magnificently. He reeled off five consecutive legs to seize total control, and although the Australian sank tops to stay alive, Gurney effortlessly dispatched a two-dart 86 combination to seal his sixth consecutive win over Whitlock.

Gurney will now take on Peter Wright, who cruised into the quarter-finals with an emphatic 6-1 win against Justin Pipe. ‘The Force’ impressed in beating Dave Chisnall in round-one, but was unable to replicate that performance tonight, as Wright prevailed with a 91.58 average, three 180’s and a 60% checkout success rate.

Wright stormed into an early 3-0 lead, before Pipe opened his account with a 14-darter. Despite this, the turning point came in the fifth leg, as Snakebite converted a nerveless 118 kill with Pipe poised to break. ‘The Force’ was unable to make further inroads after the interval and the third seed sealed his routine progression with a classy 13-dart hold.

Finally, James Wade survived a major scare to edge past Simon Stevenson in a last-leg decider. ‘The Machine’ led 3-0 and 5-2, but spurned four match darts as Stevenson reeled off three consecutive legs to force a decider. However, ‘The Machine’ held his nerve to prevail with a 93.24 average, three maximums and a 32% checkout conversion rate.

Stevenson started sluggishly but reduced the arrears to 3-2 at the first interval. Wade then dispatched 64 and 78 finishes to move to the cusp of victory, only to miss four match darts across the next two legs, before an 11-darter from ‘The Mirror Man’ forced a decider. Nevertheless, Wade’s nerve eventually held as he sealed his progression via D10.